Earlier this week, after
months of speculation, the worst kept secret in Ontario was finally made
public. On Tuesday, June 13th, Ontario’s newly re-appointed Energy
Minister, Dwight Duncan, directed the Ontario Power Authority (OPA) to proceed
with the 20-year plan that it submitted to the government last December.
According to the sanctioned government news release, the plan promises (in what
can only be considered an outrageous oxymoron) to deliver a “healthy balance”
of nuclear power and renewable energy.

The timing of the
announcement would have made old P.T. Barnum proud. Only one day earlier, the
highly theatrical demolition of “The Four Sisters”, the mighty smokestacks of
the Lakeview Generating Station, took place, metaphorically clearly the way for
what the government hopes we will all embrace as our new energy future. The
McGuinty Liberals had promised to shut down the province’s coal-fired
generating stations prior to the last election. As the Greater Toronto Area’s
largest polluter, Lakeview was the most logical choice as the first offering on
the government’s chopping block. As its landmark towers that had scarred the
horizon for decades turned to dust, thousands stood nearby to watch its early
morning demise. Hundreds of thousands more watched the event from the comfort
of their living rooms.

Less than a day later, like a
phoenix rising from the rising coal ashes, the government revealed its fresh
new plan. But if McGuinty and his cohorts thought that Tuesday’s announcement
would be the final act of their little energy drama, they were sorely mistaken.

Minutes after the
government’s plan was announced, seven Greenpeace activists, lead by veteran
anti-nuclear activist Dave Martin, occupied the Energy Minister’s office in
protest. After nearly eight hours of occupation, the police moved in to remove
the protesters, but not before the pictures of their occupation were
distributed over the Internet, providing both inspiration and hope. Unlike the
government’s corny staged antics, the courage and conviction of the Greenpeace
activists provided some very real life drama and sent a clear message to the
McGuinty government.

“Nuclear power is unsafe,
unclean, uneconomic and unreliable,” said Martin, Greenpeace’s Energy
Coordinator. “The McGuinty government has the power to change our electricity
system for the better. Instead it has blocked any meaningful public debate on
nuclear power, and nuclear power will block any meaningful development of
conservation and renewable energy.”

In one short year, the
McGuinty government has gone from promising an “open and public debate” on
nuclear power, to ramming through a 20-year, $40 billion commitment to a
radioactive future. In response to demands for meaningful consultation, the
government held three rushed and inadequate days of public meetings in
mid-February. Despite only 11 days of notice, the public response was
overwhelmingly anti-nuclear and supportive of green energy.

At the Oshawa meeting, one of
the many whistle stops along the consultation process, an estimated 200 people
showed up to express their opinion. The turnout at the Oshawa meeting was
particularly telling. The city has the dubious honor of being flanked by two of
Canada’s largest nuclear power plants, Darlington and Pickering. The majority
of those who attended the meeting spoke loudly and clearly about the need to
embrace renewable technologies and eschew our dependence on nuclear power.Their testimonies were compassionate,
inspired and knowledgeable, and, as witnessed by Tuesday’s announcement,
virtually ignored by the McGuinty Liberals.

But as they say in show
business, it ain’t over until the fat lady sings. So maybe it’s time that we
listened to the music. Greenpeace and other environmental organizations,
including WWF, the David Suzuki Foundation, the Sierra Club of Canada and
Pembina Institute, have released a report showing that energy efficiency and
low-impact renewable energy sources have the realistic potential to provide
more than double the amount of electricity needed in worst-case projections of
Ontario's future electricity in 2020.

The bottom line: we have the
power to change our future. All we lack is politicians with the courage and
commitment to follow that path. If we can possibly learn by example, then
maybe, just maybe, the Greenpeace protest will not only send a clear message to
the McGuinty government, it will also be a wake-up call to everyone in this
province to remind them that it’s show time, folks!

RELATED WEBSITES

The show must go on. For a
clear, sustainable, environmentally responsible alternative to what McGuinty
has to offer, check out a plan for green energy in Ontario, entitled, “Put Some
Energy Into a Smart, Green Strategy” at Greenpeace
Canada.

Send a letter to Premier
McGuinty, Energy Minister Dwight Duncan, as well as your local MPP and let them
all know that the OPA plan is wrong for Ontario. For a complete list of MPPs in
Ontario, go to The Government of Ontario